The Things He Keeps
by Under the Willow Tree
Summary: Little to the knowledge of Steve and Tony, their son Peter has been injured as Spiderman. Will the avengers realize his secret and get to him in time?
1. Chapter 1

Rustling from the floor below woke the captain from his sleep.

Not that he was sleeping that great anyway- currently, Tony was strewn across three fourths of the mattress (like usual), arms and legs outstretched at awkward, impractical angles while he snored, leaving only a tiny sliver for the captain.

Unable to suppress a sigh, Steve gently untangled himself from underneath the snoring Tony, pulling on a STARK LABS sweatshirt and heading down the hall to investigate the source of the unusual noise. He winced as he stepped into the light of the living room that all the Avengers shared before chuckling at what he saw. A mop of dark hair, unmistakably Peter, was crouched by the elevator doors, having accidently tripped and strewn the contents of his backpack across the floor.

Typical. The boy had defiantly inherited Tony's grace and sense of bodily awareness.

"Pete? What are you doing up at this hour?"

Looking startled, Peter whirled around, tripping over his own feet again in the process. "Oh! Uhm, hey Pops! Nothing! Nothing at all- just you know, Spiderman stuff for the paper,"

Frantically Peter shoved something red back into his bag, hanging his camera back around his neck.

Frowning, Steve approached his son, placing both hands on his slumping shoulders.

"Now Peter," he began, marveling silently to himself how similar his son was starting to look to Tony, " You know your father and I are in full support of your photography and your job with the newspaper, but don't you think it's a little excessive to be chasing after Spiderman at three in the morning? It is a school night after all…"

"Come on Pops," Peter mumbled, shrugging off his father's grip, " I can't exactly tell Spiderman to only fight crime when it adheres to my sleep schedule. You know what they say about the city, it stops for no one!"

Looking thoroughly uncomfortable, Peter backed away, pressing the button on the wall so that the elevator doors opened.

"See you at breakfast Pops!" the gangly teen cheekily shouted as the elevator doors closed in front of him.

Sighing again, Steve Rodgers rubbed his eyes.

Between worrying about Tony and Peter, it was a miracle the captain got a wink of sleep at night.

Trudging back down the hallway to he and Tony's bedroom, Steve slipped back under Tony's arms, trying to close his eyes and get a few hours of sleep before he would have to lead the Avengers tomorrow morning.

Luckily, he didn't see the figure in blue and red go swinging past his window.


	2. Chapter 2

Spiderman Story Chapter 2

Peter couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped his lips as the elevator doors slid shut. That had been a _close_ one. In fact, it was still a mystery to Peter how his parents hadn't guessed his secret yet-they were far from stupid that's for sure.

Sometimes, Peter even felt guilty for not telling them. Sure, they would be worried and angry when they first found out, but he could also imagine the twinges of pride they would feel that their son was following them into the family business. His Dad would be able to show him thousands of ways he could make his web slingers faster and more efficient, while his Pops certainly knew a few things about hand to hand combat. They certainly had a lot that they could teach him, and hey, maybe he could even teach them a few tricks.

Dropping his heavy backpack to the floor, Peter flopped back onto his bed, switching on his camera to preview a few of the pictures he had taken that night. As he leafed through the mostly blurred and unusable photos (Hey, it was hard to swing through the air _and_ activate the camera remote control at the same time) he diligently reminded himself why he couldn't reveal his secret to his willing dads, even if it did make his life slightly more complicated. Between saving the world on a day to day basis, running a billion dollar cooperation, leading a group of super people who sometimes had the maturity level of eighth graders, _and_ handling the press demands that came with being one of earth's only super families, his parents had enough to deal with.

Hell, just the idea of Peter riding the subway by himself around New York City had freaked his Pops out. He couldn't imagine how worried he would be if he knew Peter was jumping off of skyscrapers and chasing after criminals in his down time.

Eventually, Peter found one photo he had taken of himself that would be presentable to his boss. While it wasn't the most action heavy shot, it featured Spiderman gazing out over a twinkling New York City, his silhouette faintly illuminated by the moon.

Despite his parents' lack of artistic skill, Peter had always had an eye for photography. He'd received his first digital camera for his thirteenth birthday, and since then, he had plastered the walls of his bedroom with photos of the city, his family, and fascinating people he saw in Central Park.

In fact, Peter might even enjoy his photography job at the Daily Bugle if his boss wasn't such a pain in the ass. While he was indeed the official photographer of Spiderman (convenient right?), most of the time, the hot headed J.J. Jameson would have him on the least interesting stories; sending him to take photos of homeless cats, the new senior citizen home on 5th, Jameson himself, (etc.).

While he didn't really mind his job, it was getting harder and harder to manage it along with his schoolwork and late night vigilante escapades. More and more often he would find himself drifting off to sleep and class, only to woken by the unpleasant squawking of a teacher, or by a spit ball that Flash would launch at his head. But until he could find a better cover for his late nights and the occasional scratch or bruise, the job had to stay.

After emailing the photo to Jameson and sending a quick text to Gwen to let her know that he had made it in all right, Peter found his eyes already closing, falling asleep even with his shoes still on and his camera still around his neck.

Ah well. Math homework could wait until English class.


End file.
